Toy gun cartridge



May 22, 1956 R. L. MOSSER 2,746,390

TOY GUN CARTRIDGE Filed May 25, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l anon/Mm Raymond L. Nasser 33 W?@awq May 22, 1956 R MQSSER 2,746,390

TOY GUN CARTRIDGE Filed May 25, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 5 38 /5 I I W :8 )30,4/ 26; 4 5%7 ,4 1 /5 F r A7 Fm? Raymond L. Nasser United States This invention relates to guns and to cartridges used iii-connection therewith, and particularly to toy guns and their cartridges.

. An object of the invention is: the provision in guns of the explosive cap firing type, of novel and improved projectile firing features whereby to increase the enjoyment of firingas well as the economical and commercial value of the guns. 7

Another. object of the invention is the provision for use in guns and particularly toy guns, of an. improved cartridge having a projectile which contains an. explosive that is automatically discharged as it strikes a target and causes an emission of burned gases from the projectile against the target to indicate the point of striking.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, and from the accompanying drawings illustrating one embodiment thereof, and in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a toy cannon embodying the features of the invention;

' lines 7 7 and 8-8 in Fig. 4.

Refening to the drawings, 1 designates a gun barrel mounted, in the present instance, on a carriage 2. The barrel has a main bore 3 (Fig. 4) extending rearwardly from its forward end to near its rear end where it is enlarged to form a shell receiving recess or chamber 4 which, in turn, is enlarged at its rear end as at 5.

The barrel is provided at its rear end with a breech block 6. This block comprises a cylindrical body member 7 rotatably carried by a collar 8 that is hinged at 9 to a side of the barrel so that, by swinging movements, the forward end of such sleeve may be projected into the barrel recess or removed therefrom. The block member 7 has a longitudinal bore 10 open at its forward end and extending to near the rear end of the member and then continues in reduced form as at 11 to the end of the member. The forward end of the member 7 has threaded engagement within the barrel recess 5, as shown at 12, and these threads are cut away at circumferentially spaced intervals, as shown at 13 in Fig. 8, to permit a release of the threaded engagement and a longitudinal removal of the breech block member 7 upon a partial turning of the member in the barrel end.

A hammer pin 15 slidingly projects from without the rear end of the member 7 through the bore 11 and into the larger bore 10 and is provided at its forward end with a head 16 that slidingly fits in the bore 10. A coiled expansion spring 17 is disposed around the pin 15 in the atent 2f t bore 10 between the rear end. thereof: and thehead 1:6 and urges the pin forward to firing. position. The pin 15 is held in retracted or cocked positionv by a catch-pin 18 engaging inv an annular notch 19 in the hammer pin. The-catch 18 is mounted for radial. recipro'catory movements in a sleeve 20 mounted on the" member 7 and projects at its inner end. into a registering hole in the rear end of said member. The outer. end ofv the catch-pin is engaged by one end of a trigger lever 22 that extends lengthwise of the sleeve 20 and is fulcrumed. thereon at 23. The lever is biased by a spring. 24 to normally hold the catch-pin in trigger engaging. positionf A hollow cartridge shell or case 26 is removably mounted in the chamber 4'ofthe barrel and isopen at its forward end and has its rear endclosed and marginally flanged at 27 to shoulder against the forward end wall. or shoulder 28 of the recess: 5. The rear or bottom end of the shell 26 has a. central. opening in which a. firing pin 29' is mounted for limited axial reciprocatory movements determined by the axial. spacing of the shoulders or flanges 30 thereon- The projectile 32 of the cartridge is of elongated cylindrical form and slidingly fits. at its inner or rear end into the open end of the shell 26.. This projectile is: provided. at its forwardv end. with. a. tapered nose- 33 that .is threaded. into and closes the: outer end of a centrally disposed. longitudinally extending chamber or bore. 34 in the shell. The projectile. has. a longitudinally extending spiral groove 35 on: each of opposite sides thereof and these grooves receive registering; pins 36 (Fig. 7). projecting inwardly from the shell. sidewall whereby the projectile when. discharged from. the gun will havea spiral. or turning. movement imparted thereto similar to the action of a rifled gun barrel bore. on a projected bullet. It is found important. to terminate theouter end of the projectile body with a sharp shoulder 37, with the abutting. end of. the nose 33 approximately .025 of an inch smaller in diameter. This provides a forwardly facing shoulder which, upon the firing of a projectile, forces the residue from the previous fired cap out of the barrel, thereby preventing the projectile from jamming in the barrel, a fault that frequently occurred before this feature was provided. The projectile 32 is frictionally held in the shell bore 34 by a series of spring fingers 38 working through side openings in the shell.

The rear end of the projectile 32 is preferably provided with a recess 40 for receiving and directly holding a paper cap 41 containing an explosive that is ignited by striking as in the case of toy pistols. When the projectile has been properly positioned in the shell 26, the cap 41 is in position to be struck by a forward firing movement of the firing pin 29, as is apparent.

Mounted in the hollow 42 of the projectile 32 for free longitudinal reciprocatory movements therein is a plunger 43 to the forward end of which, in the present instance, is attached a paper cap 44 similar to the cap 41, or at least the cap is placed in the space between said plunger and the nose-piece 33. When the projectile nose, upon firing, hits the target the sudden stopping thereof causes the plunger 43 by its momentum to move rapidly forward and fire the cap 44 by striking it against the inner end of the projectile nose-piece 33. As explosion of the cap takes place, the burned gases therefrom escape through forwardly extending passages 45 in the nose-piece 33 and smear the target to indicate the point of striking. During flight, the plunger remains in the rear end of the space 42.

In the use of the gun, the projectile is first placed in the shell 26 with a cap 41 at its inner end and a cap 44 in the projectile space 42 at the forward end of the plunger 43. The shell 26 with its loaded projectile 32 is then placed in the breech end of the barrel within the recess 4, the breech block having first been released from the barrel and swung to open position. Upon a closing of the breech block with a-shell in position in the barrel, the forward end of the bodymember 7 engages the shell and forces its edge flange 27 closely against the barrel shoulder 28, as shown in Fig. 4. The gun is now in condition for firing. Preparatory to firing, the hammer pin 15 is drawn rearwardly by hand against the tension of the spring 17 and until the trigger catch 18 has moved into engagement with the recess 19 in said pin, and therefore acts to retain the pin in cocked position until a releasingmovement is imparted to the trigger lever 22. Upon a release of the trigger catch 18 the hammer pin moves quickly forward and drives the firing pin 29 to explode the cap 41 in the cartridge. The expanding gases from this explosion expell the projectile 32 from the shell and gun and drives it toward the target. During flight of the projectile, the enclosed plunger 43 remains at the rear of the space '42 whereby upon a sudden stopping of the projectile in flight, as by striking a target, the momentum of the plunger will cause it to move rapidly forward in the projectile space 42 and fire the cap 44 by impact against the nose-piece 33. The burnt gases from this explosion find an exit through the nose passages 45 and smear the target at the point of striking. As the projectile is discharged from the shell 26, it is caused to turn about its longitudinal axis and maintain a straight flight with its nose forward. Also, as the projectile passes outward through the gun barrel, the shoulder 37 at the base of the nose 33 has a scraping action against the barrel wall to clean it of any residue that may have remained in the barrel from the previous fired cap 41, thus preventing jamming of the projectile in the barrel.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any specific construction, arrangement or form of the parts, as it is capable of numerous modifications and changes without departing from the spirit of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A cartridge for guns comprising a shell having a projectile receiving bore in its forward end, a firing pin carried by and movable through the closed end of the shell to fire a charge therein a projectile slidingly mounted in said bore, spring means carried by the shell and frictionally engaging the sides of the projectile, said projectile having one or more longitudinally extending spiral grooves in its outer side Wall, pins projecting from the shell into said grooves to give the projectile a spiral movement in'flight, and an explosive cap within the shell bore on one endof the projectile and capable of explosion by an inward striking movement of the firing pin thereagainst to impart flight to the projectile.

2. A cartridge for guns comprising a shell having a projectile receiving bore in its forward end, a firing pin carried by and movable through the closed end of the shell to fire a charge therein, a projectile frictionally held in said shell bore and dischargeable from its open end, an explosive cap within the said bore on the inner end of the projectile and capable of explosion by an inward striking movementvof the firing pin thereagainst, said projectile havinga longitudinally extending socket therein and a longitudinally perforated 'nose-piece'closing the outer end of. said projectile socket, a plunger freely movable longitudinally inysaid projectile socket, an explosive cap between said plunger and nose-piece and being exploded by forward momentum movement of the plunger upon thestopping of the projectile in flight whereby the resultant, gases from the firing of such cap escape through said nose perforations and-mark the point of striking of the projectile nose against a target, said nose piece being removable from said socket to permit placing of a cap in socket.

Referencesi ICited in the file of patent UNITED. STATES PATENTS Nichols a Oct. 20, 1953 

